RURAL areas of North Wales are especially vulnerable to bank closures that will particularly hit older people, campaigners warned yesterday.

Welsh Liberal Democrat MP Roger Williams is gathering support at Parliament for a Commons motion urging banks to rethink closures in small and rural communities.

And Derek French, who heads the Campaign for Community Banking Services, says Wales faces real problems, as so many places have just one bank left.

Mr Williams, leader of Welsh Lib Dem MPs, has tabled a Commons Early Day Motion saying: “These closures will have a detrimental effect on local people, small businesses and tourism.”

It warns there is limited broadband access in many of these countryside areas, which will adversely impact on customers left without a face-to-face service.

Mr Williams is also worried about possible job losses because of closures, and calls on banks considering shutting rural branches to think again.

He told the Daily Post he had been fighting for a Barclays branch in his Brecon and Radnorshire constituency, but realised there was a problem right across Wales.

The MP, who is seeking a special Commons debate, said: “Many elderly people in rural areas rely heavily on their bank branch – they often don’t have access to Internet banking, and in many places there’s no broadband anyway.”

Mr French’s figures suggest over the past 20 years 7,388 banks have closed, including converted building societies, leaving fewer than 10,000 branches.

Of those some 2,000 are converted building societies, mainly in big town centres, and the Big 4 banks operate the only branches in 97% of rural and suburban communities where only one bank remains.

The Campaign believes there are 56 communities across Wales left with just one bank, including around 20 in North Wales, including five areas around Wrexham, two in the Caernarfon area and in Bangor, Holyhead and Betws-Y-Coed.

There are also a number with two banks left including an HSBC, such as Llandudno Junction, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Rhosllannerchrugog.

Mr French said the most vulnerable places are those with just one HSBC branch left, including Chirk, Llanberis, Betws-Y-Coed, Cefn Mawr, Criccieth, Harlech, Nefyn and Caergwrle.

He said: “The situation in Wales is really quite serious as so many of the rural communities have only one bank, an HSBC. Historically the old Midland Bank was very strong in Wales, and HSBC is the most aggressive on bank closures.”

Last year the Campaign says there were 52 HSBC closures across the UK, compared with 40 Barclays, 18 NatWest and 11 Lloyds TSB.